Grow plants, grow!

Rhubarb is a favorite around my house.

My wife loves rhubarb pie in particular.

So this year I bought a packet of seeds and started half a dozen rhubarb plants in little peat pots.

The plants are outside now soaking up the sun. They’re still pretty tiny but growing fast.

Rhubarb requires some patience, because you can’t harvest it right away.

It takes 1-2 full growing seasons before the plants are established enough that you can start cutting leaves off without killing the plant.

And at this stage in the game, there is not much I can do to speed that along.

Yes, I can make sure they get enough water and fertilizer.

However that only does so much.

Even if I water them 6 times a day, pile on mountains of compost, tenderly dust off the leaves with the finest 1000-thread count linen so the plants receive maximum sunlight…

None of that will allow me to start whacking off fat juicy rhubarb stalks for a pie this weekend.

There’s a parallel here to the deadline offers I’ve been writing about the past few days.

When you run a sales campaign to your list, there’s a segment that’s ready for “harvest.”

They’ve been following you and reading your content for a while.

The timing’s right in their lives to where they’re ready to take the next step—all they need is a little nudge.

This is who you’re going after with your time-limited campaign.

Then there’s another group, which is actually the vast majority of your email list.

This group is really not all that close to buying. They have other priorities that are more pressing right now.

There’s a limit to how quickly these subscribers can “grow” into customers.

Adding a few extra days of “pre-suasion content” and expecting sales to double is a lot like trying to rush a rhubarb plant with daily doses of fish fertilizer.

Time-sensitive offers are for your almost-buyers.

Everyone else just needs time.